The present invention relates generally to conventional plural line clamping systems of the type with a pair of U-shaped clamping units or channel members facing one another and, specifically, to a retaining block which enables a junction adapter designed for one size of a plural line clamping system to be used in a larger-sized plural line clamping system.
Plural line clamping systems are widely used in the hydraulics industry whenever it is necessary to connect plural fluid lines together on a machine. Such clamping systems provide a single mounting device for securing multiple junction adapters that connect a plurality of fluid lines from a machine, or the like, to other fluid lines heading to a source of fluid power. In addition, plural line clamping systems fix the junction adapters on uniform centers so that the lateral distance between the centers of any two junction adapters is equal, regardless of the size of the fluid lines which they connect. Plural line clamping systems and various types of junction adapters are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,397,431, 3,414,220 and 4,878,696, all issued in the name of William R. Walker and assigned to the assignee of the present invention, namely, Hydro-Craft, Inc., of Rochester Hills, Mich. In addition, Applicant has filed co-pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 07/733,344 on Jul. 22, 1991, which discloses an improved hexagonal junction adapter with retaining shoulders. All of the above patents and the co-pending application are hereby incorporated by reference.
Since their introduction, plural line clamping systems such as those available from Hydro-Craft, Inc. and sold under the trademark "MULTI-CLAMP", have become quite popular and are widely used in the machine tool industry to route and secure hydraulic and pneumatic piping, tubing and other lines in a neat, orderly and efficient manner. The junction adapters used in these clamping systems permits the fluid lines to be disconnected and reconnected from time-to-time without damage, which may be necessary, for example, when equipment is being moved or serviced. Plural line clamping systems, in general, provide a simple and sturdy mount for multiple junction adapters and have been and are widely used in almost any hydraulics applications having plural fluid lines. There are currently several tens of thousands of MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. installations in use in the United States and other countries, and MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. assemblies and junction adapters in several standard sizes have been sold for years by the assignee and its distributors.
The basic arrangement of a common plural line clamping system can be seen from reviewing the above-cited patents or by reviewing the prior art FIGS. 1 and 2. As can be seen in FIG. 1, a metal plural line clamping assembly 20 generally includes a stamped U-shaped top unit or channel 22 and an opposed stamped U-shaped bottom unit or channel 24. Of course, the channels could also be disposed vertically, in which case they would be called left and right channels. The channels 22, 24 are formed with a plurality of uniform-sized semi-cylindrical collars 26, 28 that support junction adapters 30 at cylindrical collar portions 32 formed on each junction adapter 30. It should be understood that the assembly shown in FIG. 1 is an example only and there could be additional sets of semi-cylindrical collars 26, 28 supporting additional junction adapters located further along the channel members 22, 24. As discussed in the prior patents, the plural line clamping system 20 can have two to ten or more sets of semi-cylindrical collars 26, 28 with each collar set being adapted to support a junction adapter 30 on a center uniformly spaced from adjacent centers.
Each junction adapter 30 is shown to be formed having a hexagonally shaped central support portion 34, two cylindrical collar portions 32, and two cylindrical line connection portions 36. In year past, junction adapters having a central body of rectangular configuration have also been made, as illustrated in the first two patents mentioned above. As best illustrated in FIG. 2, the central support portion 34 of each hexagonal junction adapter 30 fits between the U-shaped channels 22, 24 while the collar support portions 32 are disposed between the opposed semicylindrical collars 26, 28 of the U-shaped channels 22, 24. Each cylindrical portion 36 has a threaded portion 38 formed on its outer surface, to permit lines, such as pipe, tubing or hose with threaded connectors on the ends thereof, to be removably connected to the junction adapter. While threaded male connections are illustrated in the Figures it is known to use junction adapters with other styles of line connections, such as the threaded female connections, as disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,878,696.
A fluid passage 40 passes through the entire extent of the junction adapter 30 and is a passageway for fluid through fluid lines sealingly connected to either cylindrical portion 36 of the junction adapter 30 and running between a machine actuator and a source of power, a control valve, or the like.
Cylindrical stacking nuts 42, having a predetermined length, extend between the channels 22, 24 to separate the channels and further secure each junction adapter 30 within the plural line clamping assembly 20. Bolts 44, which extend through holes 46 formed in the channels 22, 24, are fastened in screw thread holes 48 within the stacking nuts 42, as shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, to lock the opposed channels together.
Each junction adapter 30 is thus secured rigidly within the plural line clamping assembly 20 between the channel members 22, 24 and stacking nuts 42. Since the central support portion 34 of each junction adapter 30 has six equal faces or sides, an assembler merely needs to place the junction adapter 30 into the channel members 22, 24 and insert the bolts 44 into stacking nuts 42. Any two opposed sides 52 of the six sides of the junction adapter 30 can be oriented along the stacking nuts 42.
As mentioned previously, MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. assemblies have been sold for years by the assignee in several standard sizes. The most commonly used MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. clamping systems are constructed with the HC-10, HC-16 and HC-32 Series clamping units which support fluid lines on 1.5 inch, 2.0 inch and 3.0 inch centers, respectively. In addition, there are larger clamping unit series including the HC-46Series, HC-72 Series and HC-96 Series which have even progressively greater distances between centers than the HC-32 Series clamping units.
The junction adapters designed to work with a particular series of clamping units do not fit into the clamping units of a different series. The inability to fit varying sizes of junction adapters within a single clamping assembly has been a significant limitation to the MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. assembly for more than 20 years. For example, if the junction adapters required for the fluid lines for a particular machine vary from the smaller diameter lines supported by the HC-10 series clamping units to the larger HC-16 clamping units, a single MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. assembly heretofore could not accommodate all of the junction adapters in a single clamping unit. Therefore, two or more different separate series of clamping assemblies were required to mount and secure the fluid lines for such a machine or application. Similarly, if the lines required for a machine vary from those supported by the HC-16 clamping units to those supported by the HC-32 clamping units, then two different sizes of clamping assemblies are required to mount and secure the fluid line for that machine.
Another type of clamping system, known as a tubing clamping system, is also widely used in industry when it is necessary to secure cylindrical members such as tubing or pipe, or the junction adapters previously described, to a support surface. Such a clamping system is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 4,934,635, which is hereby incorporated by reference. Certain Figures from that patent are illustrated in FIGS. 3-5 here, which Figures are labeled prior art.
As can be seen in FIG. 3, the tubing clamping system 60 generally includes two clamp halves 62, 64 which are mounted to a support surface 66. The clamp halves 62, 64 are secured together by a threaded fastener 68 which is press fit into one of the clamp halves 62 and is fastened by a stop nut 70. A cushion insert 72 is disposed within the clamp halves 62, 64 and surrounds a fluid-carrying member 74, which may be tubing or may be a fitting such as a junction adapter, that is to be secured within the tubing clamping system 60.
As best illustrated in FIG. 4, the cushion insert 72 has a generally planar base portion 76 with two upwardly and inwardly extending arcuate sidewalls 78, 79 which are separated by a gap 80. A passageway 82 is formed through the longitudinal length of the cushion insert 72 and has a shaped interior portion 84 which is surrounded by first and second interior walls 86, 88. As best seen in FIGS. 4 and 5, the cushion insert 72 has a groove or slot 90 which is formed along the bottom surface of the passageway 82. The slot 90 acts as a hinge for the sidewalls 78, 79 to enable them to be easily spread apart to receive a fluid-carrying member 74.
Once placed within the tubing clamping system 60, the fluid-carrying member 74 is secured between the first and second interior walls 86, 88 and is disposed within the shaped interior portion 84 (here shown with hexagonal sidewalls) of the passageway 82. The cushion insert 72 acts to prevent undesired axial shifting or rotation of the member 74, as well as to absorb shock and vibration within the tubing clamping system 60.
Although the clamping system of the type described in FIGS. 3-5 has been successful, it does not help to secure multiple fluid lines which vary greatly in size into a MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. clamping assembly. It does not have the correct configuration for use in a MULTI-CLAMP.RTM. clamping assembly, and represents a fundamentally different approach to implementing a plural line clamping system.
In light of the foregoing discussion, it is a principal object of the present invention to provide an easy-to-use apparatus for use in a conventional plural line clamping system having clamping units (i.e., channel members) with semi-cylindrical collars to permit junction adapters of drastically varying sizes to be secured within one such clamping system.
A related object of the present invention is to provide a one-piece retaining block for use in a plural line clamping system having a pair of U-shaped clamping units which can easily be positioned around and adapt an undersized hexagonal junction adapter for use within a larger-size clamping system.
Still another object is to provide a retaining block which accomplishes the foregoing objects in a manner that is relatively low-cost, and allows the retaining block to be easily assembled by hand around a hexagonal junction adapter. Yet another object is to provide a retaining block which is sufficiently strong to retain the junction adapter securely within the clamping system in spite of the substantial forces resulting from hydraulic pressures, shock and vibration which are transmitted to the junction adapter.
A further object is to provide a retaining block which helps absorb the shock and vibration created by such forces, thereby reducing noise and the transmission of further vibrations through the clamping system.